By Brigid Francis-Devine
28 May 2024

Food banks in the UK

Summary
1
Where does food bank data come from?
2 How many food banks are there in the UK?
3 Statistics on food bank use
4 Characteristics of food bank users
5 Food banks and the rising cost of living
6 Food banks in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
7 Other food aid provisioncommonslibrary.parliament.uk

Number 8585

Food banks in the UK

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2

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Food banks in the UK

Contents
Summary

4

1

Where does food bank data come from?

6

1.1

DWP data on food bank use

6

1.2

Data from food bank charities

62

How many food banks are there in the UK?

83

Statistics on food bank use

93.1

DWP data on food bank use

93.2

Trussell Trust data on food parcels

9

3.3

Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) data

11

4

Characteristics of food bank users

12

4.1

Reasons for food bank referrals

12

4.2

Personal characteristics of food banks users

125

Food banks and the rising cost of living

15

5.1

Demand continued to increase in 2023/2024

15

6

Food banks in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

18

6.1

Food banks and parcels in Scotland

18

6.2

Food banks in Wales

19

6.3

Food banks in Northern Ireland

20

7

Other food aid provision

22

7.1

Meal providers

22

7.2

Social supermarkets

22

7.3

Food for schoolchildren

23

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Food banks in the UK

Summary
The Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity that operates a network of foodbanks across the UK, reported a 37% increase in demand for food parcels
between 2021/22 and 2022/23 and another 4% increase between 2022/23 and2023/24. This continues a general trend of increasing need for food parcels.

How many food banks are there in the UK?
The Trussell Trust distributed parcels from 1,699 locations across the UK in
2023/24 and there are at least 1,172 additional independent food banks. The
chart below shows the number of food parcels distributed by the Trussell
Trust each year to 2023/24.

Trussell Trust emergency food supply parcels
Millions*, 2006/07 to 2023/24
3.0

3.0

2.5

3.1

2.6

2.0

2.2
1.9

1.5

1.6

1.0
0.9

0.5

1.1

1.1

1.2

1.4

0.3

0.0
06/07

08/09

10/11

12/13

14/15

16/17

18/19

20/21

22/23

* Number of parcels supplied, not the number of individuals receiving them

Source: Trussell Trust End of Year Stats April 2023 – March 2024

London was the region with the highest distribution of Trussell Trust foodparcels in 2023/24, followed by the North West of England.

People using food banks
The DWP published food bank data for the first time in 2023. In its Households
below average income (HBAI) statistics, it reported that 3% of all individuals
in the UK used a food bank in the previous 12 months in 2022/23.

4

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Food banks in the UK

In June 2023 the Trussell Trust published a report on Hunger in the UK. The
report examined the causes of hunger in the UK, its impact and what type of
people use food banks. Some of the headline findings of the report are:•

Disabled people make up 26% of the UK population and 69% of people
referred to Trussell Trust food banks.

•

People who live in social housing make up 8% of the UK population and
46% of those referred to a food bank. Renters make up 22% of the UK
population and 68% of those referred to food banks.

•

89% of people referred to Trussell Trust food banks receive means tested
benefits.

The rising cost of living means more demand
for food banks
The Independent Food Aid Network surveyed its food banks in March 2024 andnearly 75% of respondents said they experienced increased demand in
November 2023 to January 2024 compared to the same period a year before.
98% of them supported people seeking help for the first time.
Citizen’s Advice helped 19,810 people with food bank referrals in April 2024,
up from 15,675 April 2023 and 13,208 in April 2022. Food bank referrals peakedin January 2024, when Citizen’s Advice helped 22,452 people.
The rising cost of living means a fall in food donations. In November 2023 toJanuary 2024, 65% of IFAN organisations reported a drop in food donations
and 45% reported a drop in financial donations compared with the same
period a year before. The Trussell Trust also reported that some of its foodbanks were seeing decreased donations in 2023/24. Overall, donations of foodto the Trussell Trust in 2023/24 remained at similar levels to the previous year,
but since demand has increased, they had to purchase more food than everbefore.

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Food banks in the UK

1

Where does food bank data come from?

Food banks are run by volunteers, churches and charities and there is nocomprehensive dataset on UK food banks. Data in this briefing comes fromthe Trussell Trust, the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) as well as the
Department for Work and Pensions. 1

1.1

DWP data on food bank use
The DWP started publishing data on food bank use in 2023 in its Households
Below Average Income (HBAI) publication.
The food bank statistics show the number and percentage of people living inhouseholds where a food bank has been used within the last 30 days or thelast 12 months.

1.2

Data from food bank charities
The Trussell Trust is a charity that operates a network of food banks acrossthe UK while campaigning for the end of their necessity. Trussell Trust
distribution centres provide food parcels to people referred to them byprofessionals such as doctors, health visitors, social workers and Citizens
Advice.
The Trussell Trust gathers its administrative data from the referrals required
to access its support. The Trussell Trust runs over half of the UK's food banks
and has an archive of published data. However, as independent food banks
operate across the UK this data should be considered incomplete.
The Independent Food Aid Network represents food banks outside the Trussell
Trust network and provides data on the number of independent food banks in
the UK, but not the amount of food provided.
Food bank statistics should not be used as a proxy for poverty. The
comprehensiveness and accuracy of food bank data and the number of foodbanks in existence will affect figures regardless of any changes or stability in

1

6

The Government does not maintain statistics on the number of food banks – see PQ 182823 [on Food
Banks], 26 April 2023

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Food banks in the UK

poverty levels. The Library briefing Poverty in the UK: statistics provides
information and data on UK poverty.

1 Government food insecurity statistics
The UK Government has included data on food insecurity its Household Below
Average Income data since 2021. 2 It uses questions taken from the US
Department of Agriculture’s survey to identify households in low and very low
food security. 3‘Low food security’ means that the household reduces the quality, variety, anddesirability of their diets. ‘Very low food security’ means that household
members sometimes disrupt eating patterns or reduce food intake because
they lack money or other resources for food.
In 2022/23, 7.2 million people, or 11% of the UK population, were in foodinsecure households (both low and very low food security). This included 17%of children, 11% of working-age adults, and 3% of pensioners. 4
The Library Insight Who is experiencing food insecurity in the UK? presents thelatest household food insecurity statistics.

2
3
4

7

DWP, Households Below Average Income, 2022/23
New poverty statistics developed to help government target support, DWP, 17 May 2019
DWP, Households Below Average Income, 2022/23, Tables 9.1, 9.3, 9.5 and 9.7

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Food banks in the UK

2

How many food banks are there in the
UK?

The Trussell Trust distributed parcels from 1,699 locations across the UK in thefinancial year 2023/24. 5
The Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) is the UK network for non-Trussell
Trust food aid providers. IFAN has mapped independent food banks that
operate outside of the Trussell Trues. There are at least 1,172 independent
food banks in the UK today.
Added to the Trussell Trust’s 1,699 this makes over 2,871 food banks in total. 6
This figure does not include those operating from schools: a National
Governance Association report in 2022 found that 21% of respondents’ schools
provided food banks, compared with 8.2% in 2019. 7

2 History of food banks
Food banks were first introduced in the USAin the 1960s 8 and now exist in
many wealthy countries. 9
The Trussell Trust opened its first UK food bank in 2000 and operates over halfof food banks in the country. IFAN represents food banks outside the Trussell
Trust and since 2020 has been collecting data from them across the UK. Boththe number of food banks and the quantity of emergency food parcels they
distribute has increased over time, except for a partial drop after the Covid-19
pandemic subsided.

5
6
7

8
9

8

Trussell Trust, End of year stats 2022-23 Factsheet UK
IFAN on Trussell Trust and independent food bank numbers
The National Governance Association Report of September 2022, noted an increase in the number ofgovernors reporting that their school has a food bank.
Where they are called ‘food pantries’
See Food Bank Nations: poverty, corporate charity and the right to food by Grahame Riches,
Routledge, 2018, p42 for an international comparison table.

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Food banks in the UK

3

Statistics on food bank use

3.1

DWP data on food bank use
The DWP’s Households Below Average Income publication shows that in
2022/23, 3% of people in the UK used a food bank in the previous 12 months,
including 6% of children. 10

Percentage of people using food banks
UK, 2022/23
Used a food bankin the last 12
monthsAll people
3%Children
6%
Working-age adults
3%
Pensioners
1%

Used a food bankin the last 30
days
2%
2%
1%
low

Source: DWP, Households below average income (HBAI) statistics, Tables 9.1, 9.3, 9.5 and 9.7

3.2

Trussell Trust data on food parcels
The Trussell Trust measures the food it gives out in volume rather than thenumber of people using food banks. It provides food as ‘three-day emergency
food parcels’.
A Trussell Trust food parcel typically consists of tinned and dried goods
selected across food groups to provide healthy balanced meals, 11 following
nutritionists’ guidelines. 12 These have expanded to include perishable items
since the Trussell Trust partnered with Asda and FareShare in February 2018. 13

10
11
12

13

9

DWP, Households below average income (HBAI) statistics, Tables 9.1 and 9.3
What’s in a Food Parcel? Trussell Trust website
A Nutritional Analysis of the Trussell Trust Emergency Food Parcel, Dr Darren Hughes and Edwina
Prayogo, UCL, April 2018
What’s in a Trussell Trust foodbank parcel and why? Trussell Trust, 8 June 2018, Asda, the Trussell
Trust and Fareshare launch £20 million partnership to help a million people out of food poverty,
Trussell Trust, 8 February 2018

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Food banks in the UK

The Trussell Trust publishes statistics twice a year on its website.
In 2023/24 the Trussell Trust supplied 3.12 million emergency food parcels, thehighest number of parcels distributed by the network in a year and nearly
double the number supplied five years before in 2018/19 (a 94% increase). 14
The chart below shows that the number of emergency food parcels has been
increasing since 2006/07. There was a spike in 2020/21 during coronavirus
lockdowns, followed by a decrease when the economy opened up in 2021/22.
In 2022/23 and 2023/24 there have been record high numbers of parcels
distributed, which the Trussell Trust says is due to the rising cost of living.
In 2023/24, 1.14 million emergency food parcels went to children. 15
Note this data does not include all food parcels distributed in the UK becauseof the large number of independent food banks that are not part of theTrussell Trust network.

Trussell Trust emergency food supply parcels
Millions*, 2006/07 to 2023/24
3.0

3.0

2.5

3.1

2.6

2.0

2.2
1.9

1.5

1.6

1.0
0.9

0.5

1.1

1.1

1.2

1.4

0.3

0.0
06/07

08/09

10/11

12/13

14/15

16/17

18/19

20/21

22/23

* Number of parcels supplied, not the number of individuals receiving them

Source: Trussell Trust End of Year Stats April 2023 – March 2024

Food bank use in UK countries and regions
The distribution of Trussell Trust food parcels varies around the country. The
chart below shows the figures across the UK regions and countries for thefinancial year 2023/24.

14
15

10

Trussell Trust, End of year stats
Trussell Trust, End of year stats

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Food banks in the UK

Trussell Trust food parcels by UK country and region
2023/24
London454,750

North West355,830

East of England

349,935

South East

347,287

West Midlands

269,743

Scotland

262,479

South West254,974

Yorks & Humber

231,539

Wales

187,458

East Midlands

166,474

North East
Northern Ireland

150,560
90,375

Source: Trussell Trust End of Year Stats April 2023 – March 2024

Around 60% of food banks are run by the Trussell Trust. There are some areas
where the Trussell Trust does not operate, but where independent food banks
may distribute food parcels.
Compared to the same period last year the regions with the largest increasein parcels distributed were London (17%) and Yorkshire and the Humber(15%). 16

3.3

Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) data
In March 2024, an IFAN survey of independent food banks found nearly threequarters of the contributing organisations reported an increased demand in
November 2023 to January 2024, compared to the same period a year
before. 17

16
17

11

Trussell Trust, End of year stats 2023-24, UK factsheet
Independent Food Aid Network data, March 2024 (accessed 28 May 2024)

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Food banks in the UK

4

Characteristics of food bank users

4.1

Reasons for food bank referrals
The Trussell Trust records the reasons people are referred to a Trussell Trustfood bank. In 2023/24, the top reasons for being referred were:

4.2•

income or debt (71%)•

health (22%)•

issues with benefits (18%)•

change in work hours or unemployment (8%)•

insecure housing (7%)•

change in personal circumstances (5%)•

immigration status (5%)•

domestic abuse (2%). 18

Personal characteristics of food banks users
The Trussell Trust’s Hunger in the UK report in 2023 found that some groups ofpeople in the UK are more likely to use food aid. In 2022/23:•

Disabled people made up 26% of the UK population and 69% of people
referred to Trussell Trust food banks.

•

People who live in households with children made up 29% of the UK
population and 39% of those referred to food banks.

•

Asylum seekers made up 0.5% of the population and 5% of people
referred to food banks.

18

Trussell Trust, End of year stats 2023-24, UK factsheet. The Trussell Trust provided a multiple choicequestionnaire to referral partners, who could select up to four responses. Data has been recoded to
combine categories.

12

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Food banks in the UK•

People who have been in care as a child made up 3% of the UK
population, but they represent 16% of people referred to food banks.

Food insecurity and housing
Hunger in the UK reports that food insecurity and food bank use is linked torented housing and homelessness. In 2022/23:•

People who live in social housing made up 8% of the UK population and
46% of those referred to a food bank.

•Renters made up 22% of the UK population and 68% of those referred tofood banks.

•

People who are homeless or who were homeless in the last 12 months
made up 4% of the UK population and 34% of those referred to a food
bank.

•

People from ethnic minority groups referred to food banks were more
likely than people from White ethnic groups (45% compared with 32%) tobe homeless or have experienced homelessness.

•

Men referred to food banks were more likely to be homeless or haveexperienced homelessness than women (37% compared with 30%).

Universal Credit and food bank use
In 2019, the Trussell Trust published a report on the links between Universal
Credit and food bank use. The five-week initial wait for the first payment
especially “has led to acute financial hardship, and damaged households’
longer-term financial resilience”. 19
The 2023 Trussell Trust publication Hunger in the UK reported that the waitingtime for the first payment of Universal Credit was still five weeks. It found that
70% of people referred to food banks were in receipt of Universal Credit. The
report also said 58% of people in receipt of Universal Credit in the UK had
experienced food insecurity in the past year. 20
Universal Credit and insufficient income
The Hunger in the UK report found that insufficient income is the main driverfor most people needing to use a food bank. It states that three main factors
prevent people from having enough money to avoid food insecurity:
•

19
20

13

The design and delivery of the social security system is seen as themost significant cause of financial security.

Trussell Trust, Universal Credit and Food Banks
Trussell Trust, Hunger in the UK, June 2023, p44

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Food banks in the UK•

Work that doesn’t provide sufficient protection from financial
insecurity.

•

Difficulty accessing suitable jobs. This is especially the case fordisabled people and those with caring responsibilities.

Food insecurity and food bank use
Food bank use does not represent the full scale of the need across the country
as more than two thirds of those experiencing food insecurity have notaccessed food aid. 21
Barriers to accessing food aid
Some groups are underrepresented in the Trussell Trust food bank network.
People from ethnic minority groups and those who are LGBTQ+ are more likely
than average to experience food insecurity but less likely to be referred to theTrussell Trust food banks. For example, 11% of the UK population are fromethnic minority groups, with 19% experiencing food insecurity and 26% of
people using food aid. But this is not reflected in the people referred toTrussell Trust Food banks: people from a minority ethnic group make up 12%of those referred to a Trussell Trust food bank in 2022/23.
There could be several reasons for this disparity. It could be due to thestructural inequalities which affect the number of people being referred:studies have shown that those from ethnic minority backgrounds can facebarriers in accessing food banks. 22 People from ethnic minority groups could
be accessing food from other sources, such as food banks run by religious
institutions. 23
More than one in four (27%) in the LGBT+ community experience foodinsecurity, compared to 13% of the general population. However, thisoverrepresentation is not reflected among people referred to the Trussell
Trust. 24

21

22
23
24

14

Trussell Trust, Hunger in the UK, June 2023. Food insecurity, as defined by the Trussell Trust, includes
running out of food and not being able to afford more, having a reduced meal size, eating less, andgoing hungry.
Insights, Improving support for black and minority (BME) carers.
Trussell Trust, Hunger in the UK, June 2023, p39
Trussell Trust, Hunger in the UK, June 2023, p33

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Food banks in the UK

5

Food banks and the rising cost of living

The rising cost of living in 2022, 2023 and 2024 has led to more people using
food banks. Further information on the cost of living can be found in the
Library briefing Rising cost of living in the UK. 25

5.1

Demand continued to increase in 2023/2024
The Trussell Trust reported a 37% increase in demand for food parcels
between 2021/22 and 2022/23 and another 4% increase between 2022/23 and2023/24.
Citizen’s Advice helped 19,810 people with food bank referrals in April 2024,
up from 15,675 April 2023 and 13,208 in April 2022. Food bank referrals peakedin January 2024, when Citizen’s Advice helped 22,452 people. 26
The Independent Food Aid Network surveyed its food banks in March 2024 andnearly 75% of respondents said they saw an increased need in November 2023
to January 2024 compared to the same period a year before. 27
Research from the Trussell Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2023
found that the £85 weekly Universal Credit standard allowance is £35 lessthan the weekly cost of common essential items for a single person. 28

More people are using food banks for the first time
The rising cost of living has meant people are using food banks for the firsttime. The Trussell Trust found that 760,000 people in 2022/23 and over
655,000 people in 2023/24 used a food bank for the first time. 29 98% of IFAN
food banks supported people seeking help for the first time in November 2023
to January 2024. 30

25
26

27
28

29
30

15

Rising cost of living in the UK, House of Commons Library Briefing Paper 9428
Citizens Advice, Cost of living dashboard, Key COL trends from our data, Slide 6 (accessed 24 May
2024)
Independent Food Aid Network, IFAN Data March 2024
Trussell Trust, Giant interactive till roll highlights imbalance between essential living costs andUniversal Credit, 4 April 2023
Trussell Trust, End of year statistics
Independent Food Aid Network, IFAN Data March 2024

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Food banks in the UK

A 2023 survey by NASUWT, the Teachers’ Union, reported that just under 2%of respondents used a food bank in the last 12 months. 31 NHS Charities
Together found that in January 2023 21% of NHS charities had an active foodbank for NHS staff or are implementing one. 32 The Higher Education Policy
Institute reported in September 2023 that 27% of universities in the UK have afood bank. 33

A fall in donations
65% of IFAN organisations reported a drop in food donations and 45%
reported a drop in financial donations in November 2023 to January 2024
compared to the same period a year before. 34 The Trussell Trust reported thatsome of its food banks were seeing decreased donations in 2023/24. Overall,donations of food to the Trussell Trust in 2023/24 remained at similar levels tothe previous year, but since demand has increased, they had to purchasemore food than ever before. 35

Government intervention
Since early 2022, the government has announced several measures to help
households with the cost of living. For further details on government support,
please see section 6 in the Library briefing Rising cost of living in the UK.

Calls for more Government intervention
In February 2023 the Trussell Trust launched a Guarantee our Essentials
campaign with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), calling on thegovernment to “enshrine in law the amount people need” so that the basic
rate of Universal Credit will cover the essentials. 36 They submitted a petition
signed by around 150,000 people in February 2024. 37
In May 2023, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that food banks wereincreasingly “taking over from the welfare state”, as charities were becoming
the “last line of defence against destitution”. 38 A letter to the Observer inMarch 2023 signed by academics and charities said that a “growing reliance”

31

32
33

34
35
36
37
38

16

Seven in 10 teachers in England thought of leaving in past year, poll shows, The Guardian, 15 April
2022
NHS Charities Together, NHS charities support food banks for the health workforce, January 2023
Higher Education Policy Institute, New report finds more than a quarter of universities have a foodbank and one-in-ten distributes food vouchers, 14 September 2023
Independent Food Aid Network, IFAN Data March 2024
Trussell Trust, End of year statistics
Trussell Trust, New campaign calls on UK government to guarantee essentials, 27 February 2023
Trussell Trust, More than 150,000 people join our call for an essentials guarantee, 28 February 2024
When Amazon and Tesco join a ‘coalition of compassion’, you know the welfare state is failing,
Gordon Brown, Observer, 7 May 2023

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Food banks in the UK

on food banks risks discouraging state policies to deal with food insecurity
and poverty. 39

39

17“Expanding food banks is no substitute for tackling poverty, charities warn”, Guardian, 26 March
2023

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Food banks in the UK

6

Food banks in Scotland, Wales andNorthern Ireland

6.1

Food banks and parcels in Scotland
Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 the Trussell Trust distributed around
262,500 emergency food parcels in Scotland, including 86,000 for children.
This was a similar level to 2022/23, which saw the highest number of foodparcels that the network in Scotland has ever distributed in one financial
year. 40

Hunger in Scotland
Hunger in Scotland was published in June 2023 by the Trussell Trust. Like thereport into food insecurity in the UK it examines the scale of hunger in
Scotland, the drivers of that hunger and those at greatest risk of it. More than
two thirds of people experiencing food insecurity in Scotland have notreceived food aid. Food bank use therefore does not reflect the entirety ofneed in the country.
Profile of those seeking food aid in Scotland
Some groups are overrepresented among those seeking support at foodbanks. In 2022/23:•

In Scotland, disabled people made up 31% of all people and 73% of
people referred to a food bank.

•People in households with children made up 23% of the Scottish
population and 35% of people referred to food banks.

•

People who are homeless or have been homeless in the last 12 months
made up 8% of the Scottish population and 26% of people referred tofood banks.

•

People living in social housing made up 12% of people living in Scotland
and 61% of those referred to food banks. This figure is higher than thatfor the UK (46%).

40

18

Trussell Trust, Emergency food parcel distribution in Scotland: April 2023-March 2024 (PDF), May
2024

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Food banks in the UK•

6.2

People who were in care as a child made up 1% of the Scottish
population and 20% of people referred to food banks.

Food banks in Wales
Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, the Trussell Trust distributed around
187,500 emergency food parcels in Wales, including around 68,600 for
children. This represented the most parcels that the network in Wales has
ever distributed in a financial year. 41

Hunger in Wales
Hunger in Wales was published in June 2023 by the Trussell Trust. Like thereport into food insecurity in the UK it examines the scale of hunger in Wales,
the drivers of that hunger and those at greatest risk of it. Like in Scotland andNorthern Ireland, more than two thirds of people experiencing food insecurity
in Wales have not received food aid. Food bank use therefore does not reflect
the entirety of need in the country.
Profile of those seeking food aid in Wales
Some groups are overrepresented among those seeking support at foodbanks. In 2022/23:•

Disabled people made up 33% of the Welsh population and 73% of thosereferred to a Trussell Trust food bank.

•People in households with children made up 27% of the Welsh populationand 39% of those referred to food banks.

•

People who are homeless or were homeless in the last 12 months madeup 3% of the Welsh population and 34% of people referred to foodbanks.

•

Across Wales 7% of people lived in social housing, but 49% of thosereferred to food banks lived in social housing.

•People who were in care as a child made up 4% of the Welsh populationand 15% of those referred to food banks. 42

41

42

19

Trussell Trust, Emergency food parcel distribution in Wales: April 2023 – March 2024 (PDF), May
2024
Trussell Trust, Hunger in Wales, June 2023

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Food banks in the UK

6.3

Food banks in Northern Ireland
Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, the Trussell Trust distributed around
90,400 emergency food parcels in Northern Ireland, including over 38,000
parcels for children. This was the most parcels that the network in Northern
Ireland has ever distributed in a financial year and was 11% higher than2022/23 levels.
The first Northern Ireland Trussell Trust food bank opened in 2012 in
Newtownards. 43 In 2023/24, The Trussell Trust had 51 food banks in Northern
Ireland. 44

Hunger in Northern Ireland
Hunger in Northern Ireland was published in June 2023 by the Trussell Trust.
The report describes an increasing need for food banks in the previous five
years, stating that between 2017/18 and 2022/23 the number of parcels
distributed in the Trussell Trust network increased by 141% in Northern
Ireland, compared to an increase of 120% in the UK.
Hunger in Northern Ireland examines the scale and drivers of hunger and foodbank use in the country and looks at the profile and characteristics of thoseexperiencing such insecurity. As in Scotland and Wales, more than two thirdsof people experiencing food insecurity in Northern Ireland have not received
food aid. Food bank use therefore does not reflect the entirety of need in the
country.

Profile of those seeking food aid in Northern IrelandSome groups are overrepresented among those seeking support at foodbanks. In 2022/23:•

Disabled people made up 30% of the Northern Ireland population and
61% of people referred to Trussell Trust food banks.

•

People in households with children made up 34% of the Northern Ireland
population and 48% of those referred to food banks.

•

People who are homeless or were homeless in the last 12 months madeup 1% of the Northern Ireland population and 26% of those referred tofood banks.

43
44

Trussell Trust, Four Ways to end the need for emergency food in Northern Ireland, 21 April 2022
Trussell Trust, Emergency food parcel distribution in Northern Ireland: April 2023–March 2024 (PDF),
May 2024

20

Commons Library Research Briefing, 28 May 2024

Food banks in the UK•

Social renters made up 4% of the Northern Ireland population and 42%of those referred to food banks. 45

For more details on each of the three countries, see the Trussell Trust report,
Hunger in the UK.

45

21

Trussell Trust, Hunger in Northern Ireland, June 2023

Commons Library Research Briefing, 28 May 2024

Food banks in the UK

7

Other food aid provision

Food aid is not restricted to food banks. The Independent Food Aid Network
estimates there are at least another 3,500 independent food aid providers
working beyond the food bank model across the UK. 46 These include social
supermarkets, soup kitchens, community food projects and school holiday
meal providers.
The following list is not exhaustive but describes some other forms of food aid.

7.1

7.2

Meal providers•

FareShare distributes surplus food to food aid organisations as well asother types of charities. It was founded in 1994, becoming an
independent charity in 2004. In 2021/22 FareShare redistributed justunder 54,000 tonnes of food, the equivalent of nearly 130 million meals. 47•

FoodCycle was founded in 2009 to help communities set up volunteer
groups to use surplus food to prepare meals for those in food poverty intheir community. Its 2023 impact report stated it served 217,000 meals
and opened 22 new projects in 2023. 48

Social supermarkets
Social supermarkets are another way to prevent surplus food going to waste.
The first, ‘Community Shop’, which redistributes food and householdproducts, opened in 2013.
In 2019, The Guardian reported that social supermarkets were on the rise. 49 In
2022, the newspaper reported that a new social supermarket will open in theCity of London in September. It said the benefits of offering food at accessible

46

47

48
49

22

Independent Food Aid Network, Mapping the UK’s Independent Food Banks, Sabine Goodwin(accessed 28 May 2024)
FareShare, FareShare continues to deliver 4 meals every second to struggling UK families, as cost ofliving bites, 27 May 2022
FoodCycle, 2023 impact report (PDF), 2023
Guardian, The rise of social supermarkets: 'It's not about selling cheap food, but building strong
communities', 19 May 2019

Commons Library Research Briefing, 28 May 2024

Food banks in the UK

prices helps people avoid “the stigma of a handout” and contributes to asense of community and support. 50

7.3

Food for schoolchildren
The Library briefings School meals and nutritional standards (England) andFood poverty: Households, food banks and free school meals provide detailed
information on free school meals. Below is a list of other examples of foodprovision for school children.
•

The Government’s national school breakfast club programme provides
funding to schools in disadvantaged areas in England. Participating
schools will receive a 75% subsidy for breakfast club provision until theend of July 2025. Schools contribute 25% of the cost so that pupils in theparticipating schools are offered breakfast supplies for free. 51•

Magic Breakfast supplies breakfasts to over 200,000 schoolchildren. Its
2022 Hidden Hunger report, found that that 69% of UK schools have
either no breakfast provision or have barriers to access. 52•

Feeding Britain, a food charity formed in 2015, has also coordinated the
Healthy Holiday programme, to feed children during the school holidays.

•

In February 2021, a YouGov poll, commissioned by the food company
Kellogg’s, surveyed 1,100 primary and secondary school teachers fromacross the UK. It concluded that one in five UK schools set up a food bankduring the Covid pandemic. 53•

In 1999, Greggs Foundation opened its Breakfast Club. The foundation
now oversees over 900 clubs across the UK, providing a breakfast to over
62,000 school children each day. 54

50

The Guardian, Social supermarkets offer choice and self-esteem to hard-up workers, 14 May 2022
Department for Education, National school breakfast club programme, 4 March 2024
Magic Breakfast, Hidden Hunger – The State of UK Breakfast Provision 2022, 27 April 2022
The Guardian, One in five UK schools has set up a food bank in Covid crisis, survey suggests, 4 March
2021
Greggs Foundation – Breakfast Clubs, accessed 28 May 2024

51
52
53

54

23

Commons Library Research Briefing, 28 May 2024

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